The “Most Interesting Governor’s Race” in the nation just got a little more interesting.
Legal Insurrection readers who have been following my posts about the 2018 election will recall that California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom failed to get a Democratic Party endorsement but is ahead in all the polls
This has made him a target…of fellow Democrat Amanda Renteria, who is giving Newsom the #MeToo treatment. Renteria is focusing her attacks by citing his affairs while holding public office as a reason not to elect him.
“If he was in the Legislature right now, he’d be called out, and like what we’ve seen, being forced out,” Renteria said in an interview with The Sacramento Bee. “We’ve got to be sending the message that the more power you have, the more responsibility you have to protect others.”As mayor of San Francisco more than a decade ago, Newsom had an affair with one of his City Hall aides, who was also married to his campaign manager at the time. Newsom has repeatedly apologized for the transgression, and in a Facebook post last month, his former appointments secretary, Ruby Rippey Gibney, said she was “doubtful” it was workplace sexual harassment….But Renteria told The Bee that “a boss having sex with his employees is an unacceptable situation.””No one should be beyond that accountability,” she said. “The bar needs to be higher. And in fact, the bar is lower here.”
Renteria went on an epic Twitter rant, and cited Newsom’s date with a 19-year old model as troubling and likened it to the sexual harassment case of a state senator who recently was forced to resign over his own scandal.
If you ever wonder about the “state of the state”, then wonder no longer. Here is how then-mayor’s relationship with the young lady was described by the locals.
…So, when the news first broke that San Francisco’s popular 39-year-old mayor Gavin Newsom was dating a 19-year-old model and restaurant hostess (she’s since turned 20), the city buzzed with gossip — and more than a little scuttlebutt — about the City by the Bay’s newest power couple….But in tune with the free-thinking spirit of the city, most San Franciscans don’t seem bothered by Newsom’s new romance. “I haven’t heard anyone say anything negative about the young woman he’s seeing,” says Chronicle gossip columnist Leah Garchik. “It’s a live-and-let-live city, and we have a young handsome mayor. More power to them.”
So the next time a 40-something Republican politician has an under-20 date, I will assume it is OK to refer to them as a power couple!!! Bookmark this post for reference, then.
By way of background, Renteria was the political director for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. Prior to working in politics, she worked for Goldman Sachs, the city of San Jose, and as a high school math teacher. If she doesn’t drink the Napa Valley Chardonnay, she should.
Newsom is still ahead in the polls and seems uninclined to leave the race that has a wide array of candidates. But, in the meantime, enjoy the blue-on-blue battle.
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